Fonzie's Big Day

zoogs

zoogs

Assistant Coach
Former Husker Alfonzo Dennard made a big splash in New England today, after being subbed in for cornerback Sterling Moore in the nickel package early in the Patriots' 31-21 win over Peyton Manning's Broncos. It was Fonzie's first regular season action.

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss couldn't stop talking about Dennard, highlighting him numerous times in his Patriots blog during the course, and aftermath of the game. Dennard was in on 31 of the Patriots' 66 plays. Something close to that anyway.

An article spotlighting Dennard appeared after the game.

http://espn.go.com/b...se-contribution

He also made Reiss's 3 Up, 3 Down list, Quick-hit thoughts from the second quarter, and Rapid Reaction (postgame), where Reiss highlighted the personnel change as "spark"ing the Patriots after early coverage struggles.

Later, Reiss identified Fonzie's third-down pass breakup as a big, momentum-defining moment of the game.

Bill Belichick, asked about Fonzie, had this to say (which really made me laugh):

On the performance of rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard:

"It looked like he was in on a few plays. We’ll take a closer look at it on film...."
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Not surprised! Fonzie was a badass, tough as nails! Pats got a steal!

 
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More stuff from ESPN Boston:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4731800/closing-the-book-on-pats-broncos

2. Dennard answers the challenge. Impressive debut for rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. In addition to his second-quarter pass breakup, which sparked the turning point in the game in Bill Belichick's view, he had tight coverage and appeared to play the proper technique when Peyton Manning came at him late in the fourth quarter. This is what I had marked next to Dennard's name: 5 targets, 0 catches against. While one of those plays might have been a result of good fortune -- Manning missed tight end Jacob Tamme on a second-quarter crossing route in which Dennard was trailing and something seemed off defensively -- Dennard seems to have earned himself some more time.
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Heck yeah, against Peyton Manning, in your debut.
 
Happy for Fonzo. If not for a couple of stupid decisions, he probably would have been a 2nd round pick. I hope he breaks into the starting lineup and stays there for a long time.

 
More Fonzie stuff!

Link: Dennard draws media attention

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Others who have been in rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard's situation endured a lost year. To his credit, that hasn't been the case with him...
After keeping mostly a low profile to this point, Dennard -- wearing a red Nebraska football T-shirt -- handled himself well. He talked about the need for defensive backs to make more plays on the ball, how he needs to sharpen his own technique in certain areas, and the importance of staying focused when a quarterback tries to "lull" them to sleep and then attempt a big passing play.
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Sorry, if I followed other teams I'd probably have more articles like this about David or other Huskers.

 
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zoogies said:
More Fonzie stuff!

Link: Dennard draws media attention

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Others who have been in rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard's situation endured a lost year. To his credit, that hasn't been the case with him...
After keeping mostly a low profile to this point, Dennard -- wearing a red Nebraska football T-shirt -- handled himself well. He talked about the need for defensive backs to make more plays on the ball, how he needs to sharpen his own technique in certain areas, and the importance of staying focused when a quarterback tries to "lull" them to sleep and then attempt a big passing play.
Click to expand...
Sorry, if I followed other teams I'd probably have more articles like this about David or other Huskers.
Click to expand...
Zoog, has Crick gotten any PT?
 
Well from what little I've paid attention, David has been all over the place. Especially against the Chiefs. I only know this because I'm a Chiefs fan and listen to all the games on radio while I'm workin on cars on Sundays, and David seemed to be called every play. They thought he was too small. Heh, what difference does it make if no one can catch him to block him. The Dennard story is tremendous. Just proves that his little bad spell from Cap One Bowl to the week before draft incident downtown was a bad spell. He was held accountable, but it shouldnt be a verdict on his character.

 
I think Crick got some PT in their last game and deflected a pass in the fourth quarter. I got that from someone else on here, though.

 
As a big Pats fan...Dennard is doing pretty well. He played the entire game versus Seattle after the starting cornerback let up a few passes and then a td. When Dennard replaced him, it was lockdown coverage minus a touchdown he let up after a bad read. Hopefully he becomes a starter next week as you can see the potential in him.

 
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